First Friday Film Festival

First Friday Film Festival A showcase of independent films and visual art in a small town in Texas.

What an amazing adventure this has been! One month ago, we took a leap of faith and reached out to filmmakers to host a ...
01/05/2025

What an amazing adventure this has been! One month ago, we took a leap of faith and reached out to filmmakers to host a film festival. The response was staggering - over 30 short films and 3 feature films from the US, UK, France, Italy, and Finland. We may not have known what we were getting ourselves into, but we've learned and grown so much! Our awards ceremony was a resounding success, with several filmmakers in attendance to accept their awards and share their stories. On Saturday, we had a small but enthusiastic gathering to watch some incredible independent films. Next year, we'll plan further ahead and aim to make it an even more remarkable experience. Thank you to everyone who made this possible - we're excited to do it all again!

01/04/2025

Join us today at 1290 S Willis Abilene Texas for the final day of the First Friday Film Festival

Warning: Films get into more dark subject matter after 4pm.

2PM:

Apollo: The Space Dog (Director - Eli FIscher & Jacquelyn Garcia) 10 min [WINNER: 2025 LABOR OF LOVE AWARD]
Lil' Peter Puker (Director - Ryan Crone) 30 sec
She Loves Her John (Director - Ivan Alejandro Rivero) 7 min
Texas Freshwater Freediving (DIrector - Tristan Morrison) 3 min
The Flytrappers - Mrs. P's Little Saints (Director C. Pina) 14 min
Audrey (Director - Deni Booe) 4 min [WINNER: BEST ANIMATED SHORT]
Life of a Skater in NYC (Director - Henry Lopez) 4 min [WINNER: 2025 LABOR OF LOVE AWARD]
Recontact on Blume (Director - Chance Smith & Harold Jackson) 16 min
Cactus on the Moon (Director Ryan Crone) 4 min
Il Cibo Nel Cinema Di Aldo Fabrizi (Director - Francesco Capuano) 15 min
That's Game! (Director Josh Booth & Lillian Sims) 1 min [WINNER: BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY]
We Prefer The Old Ways (Director - Kasper Lewis) 7 min
Shankleville: A Love That Still Stands (Director - Gordon Williams) 13 min [WINNER: BEST DOCUMENTARY]
Having a Ball (Director - Randall Burns) 1 min
Piece of Mind (Director - Chance Smith & John McKinney) 13 min [WINNER: BEST SCI-FI]

4PM:
The Revenge of Sh****rs (Director - Jarno Mahlberg) 11 min [WINNER: 2025 LABOR OF LOVE AWARD]
Death Thirst (Director: Jon Bogi & Dan Leone) 3 min
A KILLER ACT (Director - Jerry Garcia) 7 min [WINNER: BEST HORROR/THRILLER]
Ludella (Director - Heather Bayles) 18 min
Disappearance at The Rock (Director - Russ Tribe) 16 min
Divinity (Director - Zackary Keene) 15 min [WINNER: 2025 LABOR OF LOVE AWARD]
Nightmare (Director - Ricardo Emmanuel Ramirez) 2 min
We Prefer The Old Ways (Director - Kasper Lewis) 7 min
A Christmas Nightmare 2 (Director - Matt Willis) 25 min
The Witches Blood (Director - Diego Fernandez) 1 min
The Boy with The Bluest Blue Eyes (Director - Christopher Kahler) 8 min [WINNER: BEST SHORT FILM]
STAB MAN - The Movie (Director - Ryan Crone) 32 min [WINNER: BEST COMEDY]
LIV (Director - Chance Smith & Harold Jackson) 21 min [WINNER: BEST ACTION]
LES LARMES FIGÉES (Director - Roman Soni) 25 min [WINNER: BEST SCREENPLAY]
Loved to Death (Director - Matt Willis) 10 min [WINNER: BEST DRAMA]

7PM:
Damsel of the Doomed (Director - Corey Trahan) 83 min [WINNER: BEST FEATURE FILM]
RABIDTS (Director - Jack Fertig) 58 min
Are You Dead Yet? (Director Jayme Schmitt) 97 min [WINNER: BEST SPECIAL FX]

I really wish I had more photos of our award ceremony, but I was too busy running around all night. It was spectacular t...
01/04/2025

I really wish I had more photos of our award ceremony, but I was too busy running around all night. It was spectacular to see the love and support for independent films and our audience was amazing!

You still have one more chance to see all of the films Saturday Jan 4th!

Now, please remember that these films have not been rated by the MPAA and may contain sensitive subject matter that may not be appropriate for all audiences. A large amount of our winning films fell into that category so our audience last night was kind of bombarded with both sweet innocent films as well as ones with much darker subject matter. This was due to poor scheduling on my part (Ryan Crone) Lack of sleep and technical issues made getting the films on the screen as fast as possible my top priority and I never got a finalized playlist made. However, at the end of the day all the winners were shown and we were even blessed with the opportunity to hand some of the awards in person. The producer for "Damsel of the Doomed" traveled all the way out to little old Abilene to accept the award and give us all some behind the scenes stories. It was a blast, I can't believe we were able to throw this film festival together in 1 month but by God we did it. Next time we will definitely plan much further in advance, we learned a lot from this experience. But we are showing all the entries Saturday Jan 4th and this time will we be starting our program with the lighter stuff from 2pm-4pm, the heavier stuff from 4pm-7pm and ending with our 3 Features at 7pm. Come support the arts and watch some movies with us!

2PM:

Apollo: The Space Dog (Director - Eli FIscher & Jacquelyn Garcia) 10 min [WINNER: 2025 LABOR OF LOVE AWARD]
Lil' Peter Puker (Director - Ryan Crone) 30 sec
She Loves Her John (Director - Ivan Alejandro Rivero) 7 min
Texas Freshwater Freediving (DIrector - Tristan Morrison) 3 min
The Flytrappers - Mrs. P's Little Saints (Director C. Pina) 14 min
Audrey (Director - Deni Booe) 4 min [WINNER: BEST ANIMATED SHORT]
Life of a Skater in NYC (Director - Henry Lopez) 4 min [WINNER: 2025 LABOR OF LOVE AWARD]
Recontact on Blume (Director - Chance Smith & Harold Jackson) 16 min
Cactus on the Moon (Director Ryan Crone) 4 min
Il Cibo Nel Cinema Di Aldo Fabrizi (Director - Francesco Capuano) 15 min
That's Game! (Director Josh Booth & Lillian Sims) 1 min [WINNER: BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY]
We Prefer The Old Ways (Director - Kasper Lewis) 7 min
Shankleville: A Love That Still Stands (Director - Gordon Williams) 13 min [WINNER: BEST DOCUMENTARY]
Having a Ball (Director - Randall Burns) 1 min
Piece of Mind (Director - Chance Smith & Harold Jackson) 13 min [WINNER: BEST SCI-FI]

4PM:
The Revenge of Sh****rs (Director - Jarno Mahlberg) 11 min [WINNER: 2025 LABOR OF LOVE AWARD]
Death Thirst (Director: Jon Bogi & Dan Leone) 3 min
A KILLER ACT (Director - Jerry Garcia) 7 min [WINNER: BEST HORROR/THRILLER]
Ludella (Director - Heather Bayles) 18 min
Disappearance at The Rock (Director - Russ Tribe) 16 min
Divinity (Director - Zackary Keene) 15 min [WINNER: 2025 LABOR OF LOVE AWARD]
Nightmare (Director - Ricardo Emmanuel Ramirez) 2 min
We Prefer The Old Ways (Director - Kasper Lewis) 7 min
A Christmas Nightmare 2 (Director - Matt Willis) 25 min
The Witches Blood (Director - Diego Fernandez) 1 min
The Boy with The Bluest Blue Eyes (Director - Christopher Kahler) 8 min [WINNER: BEST SHORT FILM]
STAB MAN - The Movie (Director - Ryan Crone) 32 min [WINNER: BEST COMEDY]
LIV (Director - Chance Smith & Harold Jackson) 21 min [WINNER: BEST ACTION]
LES LARMES FIGÉES (Director - Roman Soni) 25 min [WINNER: BEST SCREENPLAY]
Loved to Death (Director - Matt Willis) 10 min [WINNER: BEST DRAMA]

7PM:
Damsel of the Doomed (Director - Corey Trahan) 83 min [WINNER: BEST FEATURE FILM]
RABIDTS (Director - Jack Fertig) 58 min
Are You Dead Yet? (Director Jayme Schmitt) 97 min [WINNER: BEST SPECIAL FX]

Congratulations to one of our 2025 "Labor of Love Award" WinnersThe Revenge of Sh****rsDirector: Jarno Mahlberg
01/03/2025

Congratulations to one of our 2025 "Labor of Love Award" Winners

The Revenge of Sh****rs
Director: Jarno Mahlberg

Congratulations to one of our 2025 "Labor of Love Award" WinnersLife of a Skater in NYCDirector: Henry Lopez
01/03/2025

Congratulations to one of our 2025 "Labor of Love Award" Winners

Life of a Skater in NYC
Director: Henry Lopez

Congratulations to one of our 2025 "Labor of Love Award" WinnersApollo: The Space DogDirector: Eli Fischer & Jacquelyn G...
01/03/2025

Congratulations to one of our 2025 "Labor of Love Award" Winners

Apollo: The Space Dog
Director: Eli Fischer & Jacquelyn Garcia

Congratulations to one of our 2025 "Labor of Love Award" WinnersDIVINITYDirector: Zackary Keene
01/03/2025

Congratulations to one of our 2025 "Labor of Love Award" Winners

DIVINITY
Director: Zackary Keene

Congratulations to our "Best Special FX"Are You Dead Yet?Director: Jayme Schmitt
01/03/2025

Congratulations to our "Best Special FX"

Are You Dead Yet?
Director: Jayme Schmitt

Congratulations to our "Best Short Film"The Boy with the Bluest Blue EyesDirector: Christopher Kahler
01/03/2025

Congratulations to our "Best Short Film"

The Boy with the Bluest Blue Eyes
Director: Christopher Kahler

Congratulations to our "Best Screenplay"LES LARMES FIGÉES or FROZEN TEARSDirector: Roman Soni
01/03/2025

Congratulations to our "Best Screenplay"

LES LARMES FIGÉES or FROZEN TEARS
Director: Roman Soni

Congratulations to our "Best Sci-Fi Short"Piece of MindDirector: Chance Smith & John McKinney
01/03/2025

Congratulations to our "Best Sci-Fi Short"

Piece of Mind
Director: Chance Smith & John McKinney

Congratulations to our "Best Horror/Thriller"A Killer ActDirector: Jerry Garcia
01/03/2025

Congratulations to our "Best Horror/Thriller"

A Killer Act
Director: Jerry Garcia

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1290 S Willis Street
Abilene, TX
79605

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